The Pasta Queen Just Dropped Her Top Tips For Hosting Holiday Parties

Whether her TikTok posts are about "to die for" cacio e pepe infused with "tears of the pasta gods" or a classic carbonara "like the Roman gods intended," The Pasta Queen's videos are full of charisma. Rome-born Nadia Munno has racked up more than 2.6 million followers thanks to her expertise on Italian cooking. It doesn't hurt that her narrations are documentary-grade, and her signature hair flip — although performed at the peril of those who wander into the frame — makes for good humor. Yet none of these quirks detracts from her posts' subject matter: pasta recipes, hence her screen name.

Munno's ventures on social media are not where her capabilities end. Recently, The Pasta Queen published a cookbook of over 100 recipes and stories called "The Pasta Queen: a Just Gorgeous Cookbook," which made it onto The New York Times (among others) best seller list, per Shore Fire Media. But Munno doesn't just share her cooking with viewers and readers. As she confirmed to Italy Magazine, she also loves to host dinner parties. Ahead of the holiday season, the expert entertainer graced Mashed with a few of her favorite party tricks.

The first party ingredient on Munno's list is music, she shared with Mashed. The host advocates for tunes that "establish an elevated ambiance the second [guests] walk in." Her go-to genre is classic Italian music from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, per Italy Magazine.

Her second tip is wine: Munno believes every host should play sommelier for the evening, educating their guests with a few fun facts. If you don't know exactly what to pair with your menu, Merlots, Pinot Noirs, Pinot Grigios, and Dry Rieslings pair well with a variety of foods, per The Wine Buying Guide, making them ideal for dinner parties.

And of course, Munno, being The Pasta Queen, also mentions pasta as a not-so-secret ingredient in a good party. Besides being a delicious crowd pleaser, it's also fun to make as an interactive activity involving the guests. Speaking of guests, Munno favors get-togethers of a more modest nature. While some endorse large gatherings, the life-of-the-party Pasta Queen prefers the opposite. "Try getting a small, intimate dinner party group together to relax and recharge," she says, which has the undeniable benefits of being cheaper and less labor intensive for you — what How To Host a Party might call "a low stakes affair."